We must always hear Scripture first in its proper context and setting to arrive at its meaning. Once we’ve done this, we can then ask what difference does this make to the way we are supposed to live. We worship God by applying the principles that come from that proper understanding. To hear examples of this in the preaching ministry of Dr. Caldwell, consider listening to the following sermons where he exposits some of the more difficult passages of the Scriptures:

The Golden Chain Of Redemption: [ Ссылка ]
A Doer Of God's Word: [ Ссылка ]
The Outcome Of Our Approach To God's Word: [ Ссылка ]
The Sovereign & Just Judge: [ Ссылка ]

Description:
How can we understand and apply the Scripture to our lives? Can we take any biblical passage or verse and accurately apply them to our particular situations? Can we use and apply verses of Scripture that don’t seem to apply to us today?

This week on the Straight Truth Podcast, Dr. Richard Caldwell and host, Dr. Josh Philpot, discuss how to rightly go about dividing the Word of God, that we may properly apply it to our lives today. Dr. Caldwell tells us we can take any principle from any text of Scripture and make some application of the principle. However, if we haven’t considered the original context of the passage, then we haven’t even understood the principle correctly.

Dr. Caldwell explains the importance of hearing and understanding the teaching of the verse or passage in the context where it is given. The text has a single meaning, and it means what it means in the original context. We need to hear the verses for what they were saying to those people at that time. The authors had a specific historical audience, context, and purpose. Too often, people try to interpret a verse by itself in isolation without looking at the context surrounding it, and this typically leads to misapplication. Once we have taken in and considered the original context, the meaning of the text can be properly determined. Then we can extract the principle, and the application of it can be multiple in how we live it out.

Dr. Caldwell and Dr. Philpot discuss verses from passages of Deuteronomy 31, 2 Chronicles 7, Proverbs 14, Jeremiah 31, and Psalm 127. They walk us through these texts of Scripture that are often quoted out of context and inadvertently then misapplied. They talk about the original context in which the verses were given and even what specific words themselves mean. Dr. Caldwell explains how to arrive at and understand the proper meaning of a passage. He next explains how to derive a principle from the texts meaning, and lastly, how to apply the truth of the principle derived.

Dr. Caldwell says that there are times when someone sitting in a Bible study might say, “What does this text mean to you?” Someone might follow up with, “Well, this is what this passage means to me.” Someone else might say, “Well, that’s just your interpretation.” However, Dr. Caldwell adamantly tells us that it does not matter what it means to us. He directs us clearly in saying that what matters is – what does it mean; what does the text mean? The text means what the author intended it to mean. The most basic and simplistic way we can learn to interpret the Scriptures is to seek to grasp the authorial intent of the text, in its context. The true meaning of a text resides in the context. Once we know what it means, then we can ask, “How does this particular passage of Scripture apply to my life?”. We begin to do this by asking what principles do we find in the truth of the passage. But, once again, we are not ready to undergo the process of discovering the principles of a text until we know what it means. If we do not understand the meaning, even our principlizing will be wrong, and we will go on misapplying.

Dr. Caldwell further explains that meaning and application are two separate things. He tells us that both of these things are necessary to a Christians spiritual health. While there is only one historical interpretation, there are many applications that can be lived out in our lives today. So, if all we do is focus on what something means and not think about how to live it out, we misunderstand the purpose for which God has given us His Word. God means for us to know it that we would live. He intends for us to walk daily in it, living by the truth. To only know the meaning but not think about the application would be to fall short. However, as Dr. Caldwell points out, the church today suffers, not from a lack of applying, but from much application that is actually misapplication. This misapplication comes as a result of neglecting to get hold of what the text means. He explains how this has happened in the church as it relates to the book of Acts. The book of Acts is both descriptive and prescriptive.

свернуть